What is Frozen Hydrogen?
Frozen hydrogen is the solid form of the common gas hydrogen. Scientists are interested in frozen hydrogen because it may be a potential fuel source which is more powerful than existing fuel sources. Already, liquid hydrogen has found a niche in the rocket fuel market. Currently, frozen hydrogen is still in the experimental phase and has no practical applications. If frozen hydrogen is found to be a viable fuel source, scientists and engineers believe the potential power generated from liquid hydrogen would rival, if not far surpass, that of fuels currently in use. The advantage of frozen hydrogen is in its potential energy, per pound. Scientists at NASA believe that if it could be put to practical use, launches could occur with a mere 20 percent of the fuel weight currently required to achieve orbit. This also has the potential of allowing larger, heavier payloads and saving billions of dollars. Freezing hydrogen is no simple task. In order to achieve frozen hydrogen, the gas must be
